EORI offers several ways to work with the producers and Operators in Wyoming.

Collaborative Research

EORI employs some outstanding researchers and engineers and has access to state of the art technologies. Wyoming operators are able to tap into these capabilities through cooperative research projects. Typically, an operator will have a field that exhibits some unique characteristics or potential and will team with EORI to investigate these aspects. Another example of collaborative research occurs when an outside technology developer wishes to test their technology in our laboratories or have access to Wyoming operators so that they can potentially develop a field test. EORI's latest collaboration effort.

Consortia

The Consortia provides operators the opportunity to work together to identify common problems and offers ways to overcome these problems and optimize production. One approach that EORI takes to collaboratively identify, understand and address problems that operators in Wyoming face is to form a consortium. This approach brings together a selection of operators who are active in a certain reservoir play (e.g., a formation play such as the Minnelusa) and gets them to work together to identify common problems they face in that play. Then EORI coordinates research to find ways to overcome those problems and optimize or enhance production. An underlying principle of each EORI consortium is to provide a positive, productive experience for the operators. EORI limits the size of each consortium and there are no pre-set obligations or cost to join other than a commitment to share data and ideas. To learn more about the Consortia contact Nick Jones at njones@uwyo.edu for assistance.

Up Close: The Minnelusa Consortium

In 2008, EORI developed the Minnelusa Consortium. This consortium continues today with the participation of three Wyoming operators that focus on the Minnelusa formation, Wyoming’s second-largest reservoir in terms of annual production.

EORI has worked hand-in-hand with the consortium members on the gathering of data, geologic modeling and reservoir simulation, while stimulating and encouraging critical, open dialogue throughout the process. The members have had complete control of the direction of the consortium. From the onset, operators understood that the success of the consortium would require each of them to keep an open mind and be willing to share, and that ultimately EORI would use the work and results of this collective group to assist other operators. However, it is the “everyone wins” mindset that has made this consortium experience huge success.

Three major benefits result from the formation of the consortium:

The State of Wyoming will receive additional tax revenue from incremental production generated by the consortium.

In due time, all producers in the state will have the data and case histories generated to use on analogous fields.

The risk and uncertainty of many projects will be greatly mitigated, making them conceptually and economically viable where they otherwise might not be.

Screening

The screening program at EORI allows operators to access various EORI databases and enhance and accelerate their decision making. Several different types of queries and reporting styles are regularly run by EORI researchers. This assists operators by providing data concisely and in readily usable form, which, in turn, enables, enhances and accelerates decision making. To learn more about screening opportunities contact Nick Jones at njones@uwyo.edu for assistance.

Project Screening - Assess amenability of various EOR methods in a single reservoir, or group of reservoirs, based on criteria. e.g. What is the most appropriate EOR method for reservoir ‘A’. e.g. Will CO2 flooding be technically (or economically) feasible in reservoir ‘A’

Geospatial screening - screening on proximity to other resources. e.g. Reservoirs within 15 miles of CO2 pipeline

These queries can be run in combination (e.g. all reservoirs amenable to CO2 flooding within 100 miles of location X).They can be also accompanied by a consultative report commenting on objective and subjective factors not included in the databases (e.g. local infrastructure, market trends and developments, competition and regulation).

Practical advice for organizations looking to expand their footprint in the state

Strategic direction for organizations looking to establish a presence in the state

According to Carbon Energy Limited’s Peter Swaddle, “Carbon Energy Limited acknowledges and thanks the University of Wyoming’s Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute for contributing its extensive knowledge and expertise as our company expands its operations into Wyoming. The tailored market research and quality mapping EORI provided was an integral component of our due diligence report.”